occupation, especially afghanistan, especially iraq, and increasingly the spillover of afghanistan into pakistan is causing huge number of attacks there. and so what's been occurring is not just a large number of suicide attacks, but a large number of anti-american inspired suicide attacks. >> besides the obvious policy of pulling out is there another policy? >> absolutely. because pulling out simply abandons our interest, ignores our interest. with this book suggest is a middleground policy called offshore balancing. offshore balancing continues to pursue our core security interests and obligations in overseas regions, but does so with over the horizon air power, naval power, intelligence assets, relies on economic assets and political tools. and this is the core policy that we pursue as the united states is for decades the major regions of the world such as the middle east with great success. and we should return to this policy. >> can you give a specific about how we pursue this policy in the middle east? >> in the 1970s and '80s the united states hard-core interest in the middle east includi